TREACHEROUS SALTWATER

Saltwater is migrating into South Florida’s aquifer system. As sea levels rise, it moves through the porous limestone into wells along the coast, a drinking water source. Nearly one-third of 215 monitoring wells have shown a five-year trend of increasing salinity. Above ground, more extreme storm surges and high tides also deliver salt. Frequent sunny day floods add to the underground salt water infiltration. 

This might or might not say anything about the recent collapse of a building in Surfside that was sinking at a rate of about 2 millimeters a year in the 1990s. With a foundation of concrete with steel reinforcing, the building was subject to significant horizontal pressure from hurricanes/wind storms, and hydrostatic pressure from beneath as salt water rises. Regardless, it’s clear that climate change is creating serious problems for South Florida.

cnsmaryland.org/2020/11/23/salt-levels-in-floridas-groundwater-rising-at-alarming-rates-nuke-plant-is-one-cause/